1024.41 "Mortgage servicers are entrusted with handling significant financial transactions for millions of Americans, including struggling homeowners. Relevant factual and procedural background is set forth in the Court's prior Memorandum Opinion granting in part and denying in part Nationstar's partial Motion to Dismiss. In the Amended Complaint, the Robinsons claim that Nationstar's representations that it offered many loss mitigation plans and "would evaluate" borrowers "for eligibility for all these loss mitigation plans" were false. Ward, 595 F.3d at 180 (quoting Gunnells, 348 F.3d at 430). 2605(f)(2). Under Count I, the Robinsons allege a violation of 12 C.F.R. The one-time consulting fee was paid in August 2013 to PaCE, a forensic loan auditor, to advise the Robinsons on how to communicate with Nationstar and to handle their loan. A settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit alleging Nationstar Mortgage LLC (Nationstar or Defendant) violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) by failing to adhere to its requirements with respect to its customers loss mitigation applications and that Nationstar violated Maryland law by not timely responding to its customers mortgage servicing complaints. Where the deed of trust explicitly states that Mrs. Robinson is not obligated on the loan, the Court finds that she is not a borrower under RESPA and cannot bring the claim against Nationstar under Regulation X. First, to the extent that there was a period of time during which Nationstar failed to implement procedures to comply with RESPA, the facts establishing such a gap would be highly relevant to a pattern or practice determination and would be common in every case. 2605(f)(1). is generally unproblematic as the non-injured parties can just be sorted out at the remedies phase of the suit."). Id. Nationstar claims that manual review of each file would take about 60 to 90 minutes per file. Accordingly, Nationstar's Motion for Summary Judgment will be granted as to the MCPA claims under sections 13-301 and 13-303. 2001) (striking expert testimony because of a contingent fee arrangement), aff'd, 43 F. App'x 547 (4th Cir. See Krakauer v. Dish Network, L.L.C., 925 F.3d 643, 658 (4th Cir. As of November 22, about 2.8 million homeowners were in a forbearance plan, according to the latest research from the Mortgage Bankers Association. 1 Nationstar later conceded that at the time the Robinsons submitted their application, it had not yet updated its systems to comply with Section 1024.41. Although similar to Rule 23(a)'s commonality requirement, the test for predominance under Rule 23(b)(3) is "far more demanding" and "tests whether proposed classes are sufficiently cohesive to warrant adjudication by representation." 2015) Court Description: MEMORANDUM OPINION. Based on his experience and review of deposition transcripts of Nationstar employees, Oliver asserts that Nationstar has computerized data from which RESPA violations may be identified, not least because Nationstar must be able to demonstrate its compliance with RESPA to regulators. 1024.41(c) and (d) impose obligations on a loan servicer once it receives a "complete loss mitigation application" and once the completed application is denied. Sept. 9, 2019), there were multiple other claims at issue, for which Oliver's expert report seemed better suited to address. 1967). The denial letters stated that the loan's principal balance exceeded the limit under HAMP. Nationstar denies all allegations of wrongdoing and no judgment or determination of wrongdoing has been made. Law 13-301 and 303. P. 23(a)(4); Ward v. Dixie Nat'l Life Ins. Sep. 9, 2019). Sept. 2, 2015). The fact that Oliver's methodology has not been subjected to peer review and that he has not published any articles about it does not invalidate it. Life Ins. 1024.41(b)(2)(B), (c)(1)(ii); Md. Plaintiffs Demetrius and Tamara Robinson (the "Robinsons") have resided in a home in Damascus, Maryland that has been subject to a mortgage loan. 12 U.S.C. Class Cert. Law 13-101 to 13-411 (West 2015). In assessing this element, "numbers alone are not controlling" and a district court should consider "all of the circumstances of the case." Filing fee paid $ 402, Receipt number AOHNDC-10680087. A borrower may enforce violations of these provisions through a private cause of action pursuant to 12 U.S.C. Commonality requires that a class have "questions of law or fact common to the class" which are capable of classwide resolution, such that the determination of the truth or falsity of the common issue "will resolve an issue that is central to the validity of each one of the claims in one stroke." The lawsuit alleges, however, that Nationstar has not made interest payments to the plaintiffs, nor provided any record that interest was accruing and due to the homeowners, at any time during or after December 1, 2018 to March 22, 2019 or May 1, 2020 through the present. MCC JR 530. Check out:Covid-19 pandemic is the first time 40% of Americans have experienced food insecurity, Don't miss:Amex Blue Cash Preferred is offering an elevated welcome bonus for a limited time, Get Make It newsletters delivered to your inbox, Learn more about the world of CNBC Make It, 2023 CNBC LLC. 10696, 10708 (Feb. 14, 2013) (codified at 12 C.F.R. Code Ann., Com. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 623-24 (1997). Nationstar filed a notice of settlement and a joint motion to proceed before a magistrate . Code Ann., Com. In contrast, the Court finds that there is a genuine issue of material fact whether the administrative costs and fees incurred by the Robinsons resulted from Nationstar's RESPA violations. If the settlements are approved by the D.C. district court, Nationstar will be required to immediately set aside about $15.6 million to pay borrowers it has not yet remediated. However, if the costs are shown to have been incurred in response to the RESPA violation, the Court finds that they would be actual damages within the meaning of 12 U.S.C. 2015). May 31, 2016), the plaintiff had signed the deed of trust but not the promissory note but was nevertheless deemed to have standing because she had owned the home with a right of survivorship with her deceased husband, who had signed the note. McAdams v. Nationstar Mortg. Nationstar correctly notes that the Robinsons have not identified a false or misleading statement or representation by Nationstar in the record. 09-08213, 2011 WL 11651320 (C.D. 12 U.S.C. Nationstar's failings resulted in "substantial consumer harm," CFPB Director Kathleen Kraninger said in a statement. Subsequent Loss Mitigation Application. at 152. Broussard v. Meineke Discount Muffler Shops, Inc., 155 F.3d 331, 344 (4th Cir. 1024.41(h)(1), (4). Nationstar, the fourth-largest mortgage servicer in the U.S., is set to pay $91 million to settle claims brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and state attorneys general alleging. See Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo, 136 S. Ct. 1036, 1045 (2016) ("When 'one or more of the central issues in the action are common to the class and can be said to predominate, the action may be considered proper under Rule 23(b)(3) even though other important matters will have to be tried separately, such as damages or some affirmative defense peculiar to some individual class members.'" More importantly, while a determination of an individual violation would not require extensive analysis, specific proof of a pattern or practice of RESPA violations in any individual case would be a substantial undertaking, likely requiring the same type of complex analysis proposed here: a sampling of Nationstar files, compilation of all relevant data for such files, expert analysis to identify violations, and an assessment whether the identified violations are sufficient to establish a pattern or practice of violations. The CFPB estimates about 40,000 borrowers were harmed by Nationstar's allegedly unfair and deceptive practices, according to a statement released Monday. In its Motion to Strike, Nationstar moves to strike the report of the Robinsons' expert witness, Geoffrey Oliver, on the grounds that (1) Oliver was hired pursuant to an ethically improper contingency fee agreement; and (2) his testimony does not meet the requirements of Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993). Id. For example, it was undisputed that on May 30, 2014, Mr. Robinson, in response to Nationstar's requests for additional information, resubmitted the same information sent with his March 2014 loan modification application. However, Nationstar did not comply with all requirements of Regulation X, which became effective on January 10, 2014. On July 17, 2014, Nationstar informed Mr. Robinson by letter that he did not qualify for a HAMP modification and that since the March 14 loan modification offer had not been accepted, it was withdrawn. Oliver's expert report focuses on the use of Nationstar's internal databases to determine whether Nationstar has systematically failed to comply with various requirements of Regulation X. Code Ann., Com. Nationstar's claim that the above-described coding is not dispositive, because an underwriter could subsequently determine that more information was needed after all, is not persuasive. Finally, Nationstar argues that summary judgment should be entered on the RESPA claims because the Robinsons cannot establish that they have suffered actual damages as a result of Nationstar's violations of Regulation X. Appellate Win Affirms $3 Million Settlement in Class Action against Nationstar Mortgage - Tycko & Zavareei LLP Contact Us We look forward to hearing from you. This assertion mischaracterizes the burden of proof in a civil case. Furthermore, determining whether statutory damages are available will require no individualized consideration, because the pattern-or-practice claim "would be based solely on" Nationstar's conduct and can be established through sampling. (quoting East Tex. 2d 1360, 1366 (S.D. Although the Robinsons contend that they would have pursued other loss mitigation options in the absence of the RESPA violations, they have not identified any such options in a way that would permit a calculation of damages associated with any lost opportunity. Although based on imperfect data, Oliver's expert report reveals that such analysis can substantially address whether Nationstar violated 12 C.F.R. The commonality requirement is also met. In approving such a modification, Nationstar made a mistake: the underwriter working on the Robinsons' loan had erroneously double-counted their income. While Demetrius Robinson did appeal Nationstar's March 15, 2014 offer of an in-house modification, the requirements of subsection (h) were not triggered because the offer was not a denial of a loan modification application. Regulation X, which became effective on January 10, 2014, 78 Fed. The Court agrees that costs, including administrative costs, "incurred whether or not the servicer complied with its obligations" are not actual damages "caused by, or 'a result of,'" the RESPA violation, whether or not they occurred before or after the violation. "); cf. 2605(f). Regulation X went into effect on January 10, 2014. Ass'n, 375 F.2d 648, 653 (4th Cir. . The Robinsons' expert had written the scripts using data dictionaries and without accessing the databases. 1024.41(b)(1). A servicer that fails to comply with Regulation X is liable for actual damages and, upon a finding of a "pattern or practice" of non-compliance by the servicer, up to $2,000 in statutory damages. "We want to hear from you," Raoul says. Proof of these claims requires a showing of the dates that an application was received, an acknowledgment letter was sent, an application became complete, Nationstar sent a decision letter to the borrower, and a foreclosure sale is scheduled. 12 C.F.R. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255 (1986). See Broussard, 155 F.3d at 344. 1024.41(b)(1), (b)(2)(i)(B), and (c)(1)(ii) and Md. These fees allegedly violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Washington state Collection Agency Act. An "unfair or deceptive" trade practice includes a "false . Code Ann., Com. McLean v. GMAC Mortg. 2601(a). Signed by Magistrate Judge Jillyn K Schulze on 9/9/2016 . Finally, while Nationstar presented arguments for why the Robinsons have not shown damages as to most of the asserted categories, it did not advance any argument for why the interest damages claimed by the Robinsons were not attributable to Nationstar's Regulation X violations and thus is not entitled to summary judgment on that issue. She alleges Nationstar was sent multiple disputes by both Experian and Equifax with documentation showing the debt was forgiven, yet Nationstar persisted in reporting the debt as valid.
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